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438 438 HARVARD LAW REVIEW. Sketch of the Enghsh Law Courts," leaves him no doubt as to the con- tents. In this, the latest volume of the " Social England Series," Mr. Indervvick has compressed into 250 pages an account of the origin, development, and modifications of the English courts. For lack of space, he has confined himself to a consideration of the so-called Superior Courts, and of the Chancellor's office. The Ecclesiastical Courts and the high Court of Parliament he leaves one side. The history of the courts, according to the author's statement, falls naturally into five periods of about 200 years each, — the Saxon period, from the time of King Alfred ; that of the Curia Regis ; the period from the division of the Courts in 1265, to the end of the York-Lancastrian wars; then from 1485 to the Restoration; and finally from Charles IL's reign to the present time. But although particular features are characteristic of each period, these features fade gradually into those of the next, and the continuity of development is never interrupted. Like the law which was adminis- tered within their precincts, the very organization and functions of the courts were matter of growth. Custom, not statutes, accounted for the changes that crept in from time to time, even for the absolute discontinu- ance of certain courts and judicial offices. The change, for example, from the Curia Regis of one court to the three courts under Henry IIL was accomplished without statutory help. And this development continued with practically no statutory innovation down to the time of the Judicature Acts of twenty years ago. The book is delightful reading, and the many details and odd bits of information with which the author serves his readers testify to the excel- lence of his antiquarian researches. It is rather surprising, however, to find him giving full credence to ''The Mirror of Justices" (p. 92), for its credibility has since been effectively impeached by Professor Maitland in his introduction to the recent Selden edition of the " Mirror." But Mr. Inderwick is not often at fault in antiquarian matters ; and it is proof of the high estimate in which he is held that he has been selected by the Benchers of the Inner Temple to edit their archives, — archives which date from 1506. e. r. c. Text-Book of the Patent Laws of the United States of America. By Albert H. Walker, of the Hartford Bar. Third edition. New York: Baker, Voorhis, and Company. 1895. pp. c, 751. The third edition of this valuable and standard work contains many changes. There has been, however, as much condensation as expansion. Many of the unsettled questions discussed at length in previous editions have become finally and authoritatively adjudicated. In these cases the author has judiciously contented himself with a simple statement of the present law, and omitted all discussion. On the other hand, many new points have arisen in cases decided in the six years which have elapsed since the second edition of the book appeared, and these the author treats in the same ample lucid way which has been characteristic of his work heretofore. No better encomium could be desired than the authority accorded the book by the United States Federal courts. The citations of this work in the opinions of Federal court judges, almost equal the citations of all other English and American Patent Law text-books combined. E. R. c